Times Journal

Posted July 24, 2013 at 2:04 pm

Jailer Bobby Dunbar discussed the dropping state inmate population at the detention center at the June meeting of the Russell County Fiscal Court on July 8.

Dunbar said that of the 90 inmates currently housed at the detention center, 40 are state inmates, 43 county inmates and that the facility is currently holding seven from Clinton County.

“I stood before you all last year and I stated to you that I was going to try my best to hold 70 ‘paying customers’ between state and Clinton County,” Dunbar said.

“Up until April we were averaging 71 ‘paying customers,’ but May and June and part of April it hit us hard, so right now we are down to 40 state inmates and I’m losing two more tomorrow,” Dunbar said.

Dunbar explained that the state’s House Bill 463 allowing for early release of inmates due to state budget constraints has dwindled the number of state inmates available for him to petition for to be held in the county’s detention center.

According to Dunbar, we’ve lost approximately 50 state inmates since April, with some being replenished.

Dunbar also said that the closing of the state’s last private prison, Marion Adjustment Center in Marion County, would not likely help raise our state inmate population numbers.

“I’m just going to be honest with you guys, we’re just not going to be getting a lot of those inmates right there,” Dunbar said. “We put in for some of them, but these jails that have a hundred, hundred and twenty, hundred and thirty empty beds in them, they’re the ones that are going to get those inmates.

“But I promise you one thing, we’ll still be going after them, okay?” Dunbar concluded.

“I think we’ve had a tremendous year,” Dunbar said.

“But I am sure not going to go out on a limb this year and tell you we’re going to keep 70 ‘paying customers.’ I just don’t think it’s feasible guys.”

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The second annual “Run With All Your Hart” is slated for 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 10 and run/walk organizers are urging anyone interested to go ahead and pre-register as the final weeks before the event counts down.

The 4-mile run/1.5 mile walk will be held in the same location as last year, at the Russell County School’s Auditorium Complex, and the course remains the same from a year ago as well.

Last year’s event and t-shirt sales raised more than $70,000 and had more than 3,500 participants, which included virtual runners from all 50 states as well as six countries, organizers said.

The Hart family was nominated and won the Most Encouraging Kentuckian award following Sarah Hart’s death and garnered statewide attention from the event.

Four scholarships were also given to 2013 Russell County High School graduates, Ashley Franklin, Andrea Roberts, Katie Dick and Amanda Cooper, and those scholarships are renewable each year until they graduate as long as they continue in the medical field. The recipients were anonymously chosen by the family shortly after last year’s event after thoroughly reviewing applications.

On August 9, the Friday night before the run during early packet pick-ups, there will be a concert held at the auditorium by platinum selling artist Mart Schultz, who is an 18-time Dove nominee in the categories of artist of the year, song of the year, album of the year, writer of the year and male vocalist of the year.

Tickets are $10 each and are available at runwithallyourhart.3wayracing.com and at On Eagle’s Wings in Russell Springs with much of the proceeds going to the Sarah Roberts Hart Scholarship Fund.

“If you don’t want to run or walk come out and participate and support other people,” said Ashley Hart, one of the organizers of the event. “Make signs, cheer them along the way, decorate your yards…it was an amazing scene last year.”

Hart recalled last year’s run when she and Elizabeth Roberts, Sarah’s sister, were running and stopped at the hill along the route on US 127 and looked at the hundreds of participants behind them.

“To see that big wave of people,” she said. “It was amazing.”

Hart said the family wished to send a special thank you out to all the businesses that donated money and other items to make sure last year’s event went so smoothly. Some of those same businesses have already donated in some fashion to this year’s event. She said the RCHS vocational students made the medals for this year’s run participants.

“We can never thank them enough,” she said. “If everyone hadn’t pulled together as a community it would have never went off as good as it did.”

Planning for this year’s run began in January and in recent weeks’ meetings have amped up the family and organizers.

“We’re drawing close,” Hart said.

“We’re getting ready to start having bi-weekly race meetings.”

“We hope this year’s run is as good as last year’s,” Hart said.